Western Union is giving away Skype credit with each international money-transfer

Western Union is giving customers a little added extra for the next six months, with everyone who transfers money from a store given $2 worth of Skype credit for international calls. This equates to around an hour’s worth of conversation through the omnipresent VoIP service, though will vary depending on where the call is going to.

The idea behind the tie-up is pretty simple – if you’re sending money to loved ones abroad, there’s a good chance you’ll also want to chat with them over the holiday period. While you already could do so for free anyway via Skype-to-Skype or the myriad of other online communication conduits, this at least means you can chat to anyone anywhere for free – even if the other person only has a landline or mobile telephone.

The deal is effective immediately, and will run until April 1, 2015, though you have until June 30 to redeem your voucher. With each transaction, you’ll receive a Skype voucher code on the receipt with can be exchanged for credit through your Skype account.

It’s not entirely clear whether this is a US-only offer, or applies to money-transfers made from other countries too. We have reached out to check and will update here accordingly.